The Story Seeker Storytelling Podcast

Emmet Otter and his Ma face a hard Christmas, with no way to buy the presents they so dearly wish to give. But, a talent competition offers hope of prize money. Contains the song, "When The River Meets The Sea," written by Paul Williams for the Jim Henson special.

A young boy is forced to sell his best friend; but no one is interested in buying a small donkey who is too old to work.

This is one of my all-time favorite books, "The Jungle Book," by Rudyard Kipling. In Part 2 (of 4) of the first chapter, Mowgli's Brothers, Mowgli is presented before the pack to determine if he will be accepted.

This is one of my all-time favorite books, "The Jungle Book," by Rudyard Kipling. In Part 1 (of 4) of the first chapter, Mowgli's Brothers, Father and Mother Wolf adopt a man cub, saving him from the tiger, Shere Kahn. 

To see a high-definition version of this video on YouTube, Click Here. (http://youtu.be/wisnVMcFtSM)  "I am the Mom who chased the bear out of Boy Scout camp." Whenever anyone asks me to name something interesting about myself, that's what I'm able to tell them. It's one of the defining life events I'm most proud of. But upon further reflection, I discovered that my moment of bravery taught me something very important about my son, and his daily struggles with Asperger's Syndrome. Picture a pitch-dark night, sleeping in a pup tent with my son at a Boy Scout campout weekend. Somewhere, just outside our tent, a noise is gradually building to disturb my sleep even more than the pinecone under my sleeping bag. A raccoon? A fox? Now, I've never heard a bear before, but if I had to guess what one sounds like…. Well, that would be it. What would you do? I had the honor of telling this story at the 2014 National Storytelling Conference. The theme of the event was, "Fire and Light." (Illustration by Frank Stockton, "How to Survive a Bear Encounter," Scouting Magazine May/June 2013)  

I share a little of my off-beat Irish heritage in this story, along with a song, "The Sick Note," originally written by Pat Cooksey and performed by The Dubliners. This performance was given for the Littleton Chapter of Spellbinders volunteer storytellers.  An HD version of this video can be seen on YouTube at: http://youtu.be/664DNZDj65Y    For more of my stories, visit www.TheStorySeeker.com.   For more info about Spellbinders, visit www.Spellbinders.org.

A small green caterpillar never imagines the world might contain anything beyond his simple cabbage leaf. Then one day, a beautiful butterfly lays her eggs on the leaf, and his small world suddenly changes.

Molly Hays was a heroine of the Revolutionary War. During the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse on June 28, 1778, Molly carried water through the danger and din of the battlefield to the Colonial troops, fighting in +100 degree heat against a larger and better trained British army. When her husband was wounded, she assumed responsibility for firing his cannon through the rest of the battle. Her service was recognized by General George Washington.

This is one of my all-time favorite Christmas stories. Maybe it's because I, too, wanted a pony for many a Christmas (and still do, I guess). Maybe because, as a parent now, I wonder how I would handle the declaration from my own son that "I want this, or Nothing!" Either way, this little-known gem of a tale is worth hearing. I hope you enjoy it too, as my gift to you.